Best of
Alternate-History

2009

In His Majesty's Service


Naomi Novik - 2009
    Will Laurence is serving with honor in the British Navy when his ship captures a French frigate harboring most a unusual cargo–an incalculably valuable dragon egg. When the egg hatches, Laurence unexpectedly becomes the master of the young dragon Temeraire and finds himself on an extraordinary journey that will shatter his orderly, respectable life and alter the course of his nation’s history.Thrust into England’s Aerial Corps, Laurence and Temeraire undergo rigorous training while staving off French forces intent on breaching British soil. But the pair has more than France to contend with when China learns that an imperial dragon intended for Napoleon–Temeraire himself– has fallen into British hands. The emperor summons the new pilot and his dragon to the Far East, a long voyage fraught with peril and intrigue. From England’s shores to China’s palaces, from the Silk Road’s outer limits to the embattled borders of Prussia and Poland, Laurence and Temeraire must defend their partnership and their country from powerful adversaries around the globe. But can they succeed against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?Together in one volume, here are the first three novels in Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestselling Temeraire series, combining the gripping history of the Napoleonic era, the thrill of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern books, and the excitement of Patrick O’Brian’s seafaring adventures. In His Majesty’s Service also includes an exclusive original Temeraire short story - "In Autumn, a White Dragon Looks over the Wide River".

Belisarius III: The Flames of Sunset


Eric Flint - 2009
    Now, from the far future, they have sent their creation back to rule the Malwa Empire, then to conquer and shape the world of the sixth century A.D. into the form that will make their own foul existence possible. Those in the future who never were human have sent their own messenger to the past: Aide, a gleaming jewel who has come to Belisarius, the greatest general of the sixth century and perhaps any century. Between them they have forged an alliance of all the world against the evil fro the far future—and an army that can be the spear through evil’s heart. The Dance of Time: The Malwa and their evil have been driven back to their Indian heartland, but there they coil to strike again. Ruled by a monster from the future that is part computer and part demon, they prepare a fresh attack whose success will leave them rulers of the world—and the monster that guides the Malwa will rule the whole future. Guided by Aide, Belisarius has arrayed the forces of Mankind against the Malwa evil. There is no hope for Mankind if he fails—so he must not fail! The triumphant conclusion of the Belisarius saga.

Belisarius II: Storm at Noontide


Eric Flint - 2009
    2.       Eric Flint is co-author of three New York Times best sellers: 1634: The Galileo Affair, 1634: The Baltic War and 1634: The Bavarian Crisis. 3.       David Drake has written many bestsellers, including the Hammer’s Slammers series for Baen, and the Lord of the Isles series for Tor. 4.     Eric Flint is a brilliant star of fantasy and science fiction. His alternate history novel, 1632, is a strong seller in mass market, with an 87% sell through to date, and strong critical praise, as from Publishers Weekly, which called it “gripping and expertly detailed.” 5.       Advertising in Locus, more 6.       Simultaneous hardcover and trade paperback editions. 7.       Co-op availableContinuing the popular Belisarius saga, with two full-length novels in one volume.   Destiny’s Shield: Evil from beyond time: The Malwa Empire squats like a toad across sixth century India, commanded by ruthless men with depraved appetites. But the thing from the distant future that commands them is far worse. Those who oppose the purulent Hell the Malwa will make of Earth have sent a crystal, Aide, to halt their advance. Aide holds all human knowledge—but cannot act by himself. That requires Count Belisarius, the greatest general fo the age and perhaps of all ages, who must outwit the evil empire—and then, when there is no longer room to maneuver, to meet it sword-edge to sword-edge, lest evil beyond human conception rules the world forever.   Fortune’s Stroke: Link, the supercomputer from a future that should not, must not exist has used terror and gunpowder weapons to forge the Malwa Empire on the Indian subcontinent. Aide and Belisarius have led the armies of Byzantium and blunted the first assault of the Malwa hordes. Now he and his allies from all the world face overwhelming numbers in a ring that tightens about them. The armies of Good and Evil gathered on the fertile plains of Mesopotamia will decide the fate of the world—and the fate of all the future.

The Last Days of Thunder Child


C.A. Powell - 2009
    H.M.S. Thunder Child steams towards her glorious destiny in this 'War of the Worlds' pastiche! The War of the Worlds contains a small section on the Thunder Child battleship that attacks three tripods to save a paddle steamer. This story takes place a few days before the event and leads up to the final dramatic moment. The clever build-up leads to this final battle of ironclad v three Martian tripods. The story moves between the crew of the HMS Thunder Child at sea, and Mister Stanley, the man from the War Office. He is moving across the land to various semaphore stations. He is linked to the ship because he delivered the mission orders before the story starts. If you have read War of the Worlds and enjoyed it, you will like this story too.

Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel


Paul Guinan - 2009
    history. Designed by Professor Archibald Campion in 1893 as a prototype, for the self-proclaimed purpose of “preventing the deaths of men in the conflicts of nations,” Boilerplate charged into combat alongside such notables as Teddy Roosevelt and Lawrence of Arabia. Campion and his robot also circled the planet with the U.S. Navy, trekked to the South Pole, made silent movies, and hobnobbed with the likes of Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla. You say you’ve never heard of Boilerplate before? That’s because this book is the fanciful creation of a husbandand-wife team who have richly imagined these characters and inserted them into accurate retellings of history. This full-color chronicle is profusely illustrated with graphics mimicking period style, including photos, paintings, posters, cartoons, maps, and even stereoscope cards. Part Jules Verne and part Zelig, it’s a great volume for a broad range of fans of science fiction, history, and robots.

The Magestic time travel series #1


Geoff Wolak - 2009
    Disaster awaits the world in 2025, the aim being to prepare the world - if the world will allow them. The various world governments have their own ideas, and fixing the planet is not so straightforward for the mysterious Mister Magestic. This first series comes in 18 parts, and is approx 3,000 book pages long. Magestic series 2 follows on, and comes in 11 parts, Magestic 3 in 8 parts. It is a long saga!

Paratime! Collected Paratime Stories


H. Beam Piper - 2009
    Included are these classic tales: "He Walked Around the Horses," "Police Operation," "Time Crime," "Last Enemy," "Temple Trouble," "Genesis."

Ride of the Valkyries


Stuart Slade - 2009
    In North Africa, heroic resistance by French and Algerian troops have stopped the advance of the Caliphate in its tracks. In the South China Sea, missile cruisers of the Indian and Japanese Navy are about to meet head-on in the first major naval battle for a quarter of a century. In a battle that ranges from the deserts of North Africa to the fabulous casinos in Cuba, the Valkyrie will draw its baptism of fire in an effort to destroy the Caliphate's biological weapons.

Time Well Bent: Queer Alternative Histories


Connie Wilkins - 2009
    For as long as there's been such a thing as sex, alternate sexual identities have been a fact of life. So why have we been so nearly invisible in recorded history and historical fiction? Now editor Connie Wilkins, a Lambda Literary Award finalist, has assembled fourteen stories that span the centuries from ancient times to the Renaissance to the modern era and explore alternate versions of our past. Their queer protagonists, who bend history in ways dramatic enough to change the world and subtle enough to touch hearts and minds, rescue our past from invisibility, and affirm our place and importance throughout all of history, past, present, and future

30 Stories in 30 Days


David Wellington - 2009
    In fact, thirty little gifts, one a day for thirty days, sure to delight and enthrall. That is, if you dare to read them...The author of Monster Island, the 13 Bullets series, and the upcoming Frostbite made his mark reinventing the classic monsters for the 21st century—zombies, vampires, and now werewolves. He got his start serializing his novels on the web in short, bite-sized installments. Now he’s got something really special in mind.For the next thirty days, every single day, David Wellington will release a complete short story. Some are terrifying—some are hilarious—and some are just downright bizarre. They all have one thing in common, though: they’re absolutely free to read and share.